That’s what I love about bartag so much!!!!!! They would be the slowest of slow burns and even when (after a long time 😭😭) both are aware of how they feel for the other, their cynicism would get in the way of just going for it.
“He probably wants me gone after this all ends.”
“He probably has a whole life he wants to return to.”
When in reality they both want nothing more than for the both of them to stay in the house together 😭😭
I like to think that in the beginning, Yesenin starts helping the homeowner around the house as a way to pass the time, and over time, the homeowner changes his habits to accommodate this. They also warm up to each other due to shared struggles and what not. Maybe after the homeowner gets shock from yet another dead body in his house, he goes to Yesenin to just… sit there and be with him. Maybe after Yesenin is dealing with too much thoughts, he puts his feelings into a poem and shares it with the homeowner.
I think something very special about Yesenin specifically in relation to the homeowner is that he’s the very first stranger he encounters. Overtime, the house gets filled with more and more people, yet the numbers whittle down just as fast. Some fall victim to visitors (and the homeowner at times), some get dragged away by FEMA, and some just straight up leave on their own accord. However, at the end of the day (or night) Yesenin will always be there. He stayed with you from the very beginning all the way to the end. I think it’s very beautiful that the first person the hermit, who usually wants nothing to do with strangers, opens his doors to is the one he ends up forming a deep connection with.
(Also part of this is because Yesenin’s just so… unlucky 😭😭. Bro is always THE first one to die. It took me a while to keep him in the house for just a week to get his achievement, so if the homeowner can keep him alive all the way until the basement, I say he deserves that tall skinny man fair and square 😭)
I’d imagine their relationship to slowly fall into what looks like an old married couple. They already do chores together. Yesenin could help the homeowner deal with the pale man and/or FEMA. Perhaps the homeowner, after a couple of weeks, offers Yesenin a spot on the bed (of course, totally platonically) so he can stretch his legs for once.
It takes them such a long time to confess to one another (might take years after the apocalypse ends) that when they do start dating (I guess?) that they’ve already gotten used to living together and virtually nothing changes. Idk, I don’t really view them as very romantic, they don’t really say “I love you” or go on dates that often. I do think they kiss and engage in… other activities, but just being with each other is just enough for them imo.
Dang I kinda wrote a whole essay uhhh…
Thank you for making this 😭😭 I love bartag a whole lot too 😭😭